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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Salvaged in Vermont

There's junk and then there's salvage. Know the difference?

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Junk is what some folks call trash and others call treasure. But, salvage is something totally different, especially architectural salvage which often recycles the past. One of the most interesting salvage warehouses is Vermont Salvage in White River Junction, VT, a former railroad center that has reinvented itself as an artists' colony.

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Vermont Salvage is headquartered in a former grocery supply building, where it started some 25 years ago. It's easily found in the center of town, across from the train station. For the past 25 years, Vermont Salvage has specialized in salvage items. But, you won't find knick-knacks or flea market items there, just LOTS of things salvaged from homes, schools, hospitals, military bases and businesses. This diversity of salvage jobs means that there is a constantly changing and very unique on-site. 

Maybe you're searching for a new sink, toilet or tub — no matter what color, you just might find it here. Maybe you just need some windows or a door, perhaps a period fireplace mantel or some unusual seating. And, if you can't find just what you're looking for, just ask and you may also learn the history behind a find — every piece HAS a story.

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If you plan to visit in winter, bundle up because it's  unheated. And, be sure to wear comfortable shoes so you explore ALL 3 floors encompassing some 30,000 square feet of inventory space. There's lots of categorized AND some uncategorized treasures.

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We spotted these beige and orange benches from the Fairway Bowling Alley in Natick, MA,  which featured candlepin bowling, a uniquely New England sport, that uses smaller balls and skinnier pins than traditional bowling, making it harder to score points. Fairway was founded in 1956 and closed in 2011, nearly 56 years afterwards. Vermont Salvage acquired all  the alleys and some other nostalgic items from Fairway. Some of the alleys will be re-purposed into dining room tables.

At one time, many banks had grates and windows like this — look at the lettering above this one — fitting for this time of year.

bank grate

(If you can't make out the lettering on the bank teller's window above, it reads Christmas Club . . . are these still around?)

16 comments:

Cicero Sings said...

Glad those benches weren't pews. They don't look all that comfortable.

Anonymous said...

Hubby and I would love this place. Thanks for sharing the awesome pictures. It's still in the 70's here in GA but cooler weather is headed our way. Have a good week.

Connie said...

This was a very interesting post, Beatrice. I don't think I've ever seen a place quite like that. Looks like a fun place to wander around in.

Doris said...

I saw some treasures in your photos... And it wasn't a red tub or a blue sink!! Love the doors and the Coke boxes. Thanks for sharing!
Your Christmas greeting has arrived.... So special! Thanks!

DeniseinVA said...

Looks like a real treasure trove of a place. I would enjoy looking around here.

Arija said...

Great featuring Vermont Salvage. It is so nice to hear of what is happening in a place one has known reasonably well. Wouldn't recognise most of the place now of course,but the memories linger on.

Debbie said...

what an interesting entry, i had no idea!!

i will pass on those pink toilets!!

Anvilcloud said...

That kind of place would be heavenly for some but maybe not so much for me although I wouldn't mind a quick tour.

Candlepin bowling looks interesting. We had duck pins when I was young in Montreal, which is 10 pins with smaller everything. We also have 5 pin bowling in Ontario. Of course we also have the traditional 10 pin.

Montanagirl said...

Wow, that store has quite a collection of items. No matter what you might think of, it'll probably be there! By the way, thank you for the nice Christmas card. I haven't even gotten to mine yet. Hopefully this week!

MadSnapper said...

it makes me happy to see they are saving all these wonderful pieces of art and history to be recycled. i have not seen one here, but would love to wander in one. we need to reuse everything and stop all the waste...

possum said...

Looks like a fun place to me! I mean, where else could you get a red bath tub and pink toilet all under the same roof?
I can see that red tub in Rosebud's yard with Santa in it... hmmm, maybe a pink tub next to it for Mrs Claus?

Ludwig said...

There is no junk there, no salvage. Just treasures!

Debby said...

Hi. I am a new follower by way of Christer's blog. I like your blog name and anyone with a pen name of Beatrice Boyd has to be a fun person to follow.

HermitJim said...

Looks like a place I would enjoy exploring! I can always find a use for stuff other folks consider trash!

Thanks for the tour!

Anonymous said...

I love places like that! I can walk around for hours :-) Unfortunately we don't have any place like that close to where I live but I can drive huge distances to get to one without complaining :-)

Thanks forb the Christmas card :-) My favorite bird :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Unknown said...

Oh this is right up our alley...never thought about salvage that way before. That is the kind of store we love to visit when we travel. We love watching American Pickers on the history channel on TV, pickers often get through lots of junk. We have an accumulation of stuff now, my new term. Saturday we went to a local flea market and could not find a thing, we left empty handed. Jerry said, "we have better junk than they had." I reminded him it was stuff!:-)